The present invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for shielding selected areas from microorganisms and/or contaminants, and more particularly for insulating selected areas (especially areas occupied by parts of or entire bodies of patients on operating tables) from the surrounding atmosphere.
It is known to insulate the area above the operating table from the surrounding atmosphere by so-called clean-room air. To this end, clean-room air is discharged by one or more nozzles to flow, e.g., substantially tangentially, along the outline of the selected area. Apparatus for converting atmospheric air into clean-room air are still in a stage of continuous development, the same as the devices for controlling the flow of clean-room air around the selected area so as to insulate such area from the surrounding atmosphere. Heretofore known apparatus and methods are unsatisfactory in numerous respects, especially as concerns the economy of generation and utilization of clean-room air and also as concerns the prevention of penetration of infectants from the surrounding atmosphere into the selected area, e.g., into the region adjacent to that part of the body of a patient on an operating table or in an emergency room which is to undergo surgery and/or other treatment.